Handle



W Dec. 18,- 1923;

T. w. WRIGHT HANDLE Filed can. 28 1922 TIE l INVENTOR.

fi/orms VV WEIGHT ATTORNEY5.

Patented Dec. l 1923.

case sires moms w. WRIGHT,

OF ANDERSON, INDTANA.

Haunts. Application nieii October as, 1 922. Serial are. 597,541;

To all whom it my concern: i Be it known that l T'rro As W. WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Anderson, county of Madison, and State invented a certain 'new and of Indiana, have useful Handle; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description' thereof, reference being had to the set forth in the first.

-: place the drying orchanging of temperature accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts.

This invention relates to. improvements on handles for spades, shovels and other things, like the eneral type known. as the D- handle an over what is set forth in former Letters Patent to me No. 710,389, granted September 30, 1902, and No. 801,623, patented October 10, 1905. V

As stated mum last of said above mentioned patents, I found from experience certain serious difficulties in the handle as of said above patents, and the object of the second of said patents was to overcome some of those difficulties. One difficulty was the checking or cracking ofjthe lower part of the D on both sides atthe point where the handle or stem enters the D. the introduction of bradsl'l'.

I have found, however, great difiiculty in preventing the cracking or checking of the Dwhen made of wood, even with the brad's in it, for whilethe brads would stay in metal fasteners 'or' wool crack and check weaken and loosen the the wood so as to union between the D and the handle or stem, and so as to roughen the surface of the handle and former constructions,

splinter it sometimes and be injurious to the hand of the workman. Furthermore, the

handle or stem at its upper end had to be so narrowed 'for insertion into the D in said that it very greatly weakened the handle and caused the same often to break at the union between the D and the rest. of the handle. This is shown in the prior specified patents siderably.

F urthermore. it has always been practically impossible to prevent the curved lower edges of the wooden D-handle from cracking rough and occurs at the-bend on 'part of the D-handle.

, That was sought to be overcome by I wood and is for spades, shovels, forks and the like, and

where the re- 'duced portion is flattened on both sides con handles, and which is necessary in the practical use of the handles.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings Fig. l is a plan View of the handle. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section through the same. Fig. 3 is an Qelevation of the i1 er end of the wooden handle or stem. *ig. 4 is a transverse section thereof on' the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an inside elevation of the upper end of one of the sides of the metal D- handle, arts being broken away.

The andle construction shown in the drawings consists of a main handle or stem 10 made of wood, the body of the D 11 made of metal, and the grip 12 made of, wood.

The main handle or stem 10 is made of ,round' like ordinary handles at its upper end it is reduced at 15 to. form an annular shoulder. the reduced portion being cylindrical at its base and tapered and centrally cut out at 16 to form two similar prongs 17 each almost semi-cylindrical cross section, with flat inner faces separated by' a V-shaped space at 16. V The body portion of the D-handle has a lower tubular round shank 18 adapted'to receive and tightly surround the base of the reduced upper end of the main handle or stem 10, as shown in Fig. 2 The metal handle is bifurcated to. form two side members 19, opposite each other and constituting the sides of the D.- The lower part of each side member 19 is hollow or tubular so as a to provide an elongated tapering recess at 20 which extends .from the V 21. between the the rivet 26 is straight.

recesses 20 are of the same form in cross section as the prongs 17 shown in Fig. 4. he V 21 separating and'connecting the two branches of the D-handle is relatively thick and strong, as shown in Fig.2, for cooperating with the other parts of the D-handle and securely holding the same on the main handle or stem D.

In manufacturing this sort of handle, the wooden prongs 17 should be steamed or otherwise treated when the metal D is secured in place on the main handle 10 and afterwards permitted to dry and cure so that the wooden prongs 17 will, of their .own accord, remain spread apart in the form and position shown in Fig. 1-1. This will hold the metal Dhandle on the main stem or handle 10 securely, although glue may be used in addition for effecting a secure and permanent union between the two members.

The upper end of each side 19 of the metal D-handle is provided with a socket or recess 23 on the inside with a surrounding rib 24:. This socket is preferably oblong, as shown in Fig. 5, and it is adapted to receive the re duced end 25 of the grip member 12 of the handle, as shown in Fig. 2. The reduced end 25 is shaped to fit snugly in the socket 23. A rivet 26 extends entirely through the grip member 12 and the two sides 19 of the metal D-handle, said two sides of the latter being provided with holes concentric with the sockets 23 for said rivet. The grip member 12 is preferably curved,'as shown in Fig. 2, for comfortin handling, although The oblong form 3 and the ends of the grip the latter from turning of the sockets 2 member 12 prevent in the D-handle.

By making the D-hand'le of metal, a very strong and smooth handle is provided and comfortable-to the workmen, and does not have splinters to'injure'them. In constructing said metal D-handle with the bifurcated recesses 20 in the two sides and uniting it with the main handle or stem 10 in the manner shown and described herein, and by making the grip 12 of wood, said metal D-handle is rendered relatively light for a metal handle,'and yet amply strong, and thus its weight is so reduced that it successfully meets the requirement of balance necessary for comfortable use. By this is meant that the relative weights of the main handle or stem 10, and of the metal D-handle,

are such as to practically balance each other in use, that is, neither end of the handle will be relatively heavier than the other, or at' least neither end will be too heavy relative to the other end for comfortable use. The low-' er end of the D-handle-is relatively thin, because .it is made of metal, which enables the reduced upper end of the main handle or stem 10 to be larger and relatively stronger than when the D-handle is made of wood,

and it enables the base of the reduced porti on to be cylindrical instead of flattened on each side, as is required with wood D-handles, because the wooden portion surrounding the reduced portion of the main handle or stem must be relatively thick to prevent breaking, and that requires the reduced portion of the main handle or stem to be flattened on two sides, so that that part becomes relatively weak. This difliculty is overcome in the construction shown herein in Fig. 2.

While Fig. 2 shows the preefrred construction, the invention is'not limited to the details thereof, orto the relative dimensions of parts. The grip portion 12 can be made of different shape and material from that shown and described, so far as this invention is concerned.

The main handle or stem and the prongs thereof are preferably made of wood, but they may be made of any other suitable material that is capable of yieldingly wedging into the metal D-handle, as herein shown and described.

The invention claimed is:

1. A handle construction including a U- handle made of metal with the lower end and the lower portions of the two sides thereof hollow, and a main handle or stem formed with its upper end shaped tightly in the lower end of the D-handle and with prongs fitting tightly in the hollow portions of the sides of the D-handle,

2. A handle construction including a D" handle'made of metal with the lower end and the lower portions of the two sides thereof hollow, and a main handle or stem formed with its upper end shaped to fit tightly in the lower end of the D-handle and with prongs fitting tightly in the hollow portions of the sides of the D-handle, the lower end of said metal D-handle and the portion of the main handle or stem therein being cylindrical in cross section.

3. A handle construction including a U handle made of metalwith the lowerend and the lower portions of the two sides thereof hollow, and a main handle or stem formed with its upper end shaped to fit tightly in the lower end of the D-handle and with prongs fitting tightly in the hollow portions of the sides of the D-handle, the lower end of said metal D-handle and the portion of the main handle or stem therein being cylindrical in cross section, and the recesses in the sides of the D-{handle and the prongs of the handle fitting therein being substantially semi-cylindrical in cross section.

4. A handle construction including a substantially l-shaped D-handle made of metal with the lower end and the the two sides thereof hollow, and a main handle or stem formed with its upper end shaped to fit tightly in the lower end of the lower portions of the hollow handle.

5. A handle construction including a D- handl-e made of metal with the lower end and the lower portions. of the two sides thereof hollow, the space between the sides of said metal handle being substantially \/-shaped, and a main handle or stern formed with its upper end shaped to. fit. tightly in the lower end of the D-handle and with prongs fitting tightly in thehollow portions of the sides of the .D-handle, the lowerend'of. said metal D- handle and the portion of the main handle or stem therein being cylindrical in cross section, and the recesses in the sides of the lD-handle and the prongs of the handle fitting therein being substantially semi-cylindrical in cross section.

6. A handle construction including a sub:'

stantially V-shaped D-handle made of metal portions of the sides of the D-' with the lower end and the lower portions 0:1

the two sides thereof hollow, the sides of,

said D-handle being separated by a substantially V-shaped space, and a main handle or stem formed with its upper end shaped to fit tightly in the lower end of the D-handle and with prongs fitting tightly in the hollow portions of the sides of the D-handle.

' 7. A handle construction includinga D- handle with the lower-and vside portions formed of metal with vertical elongated opposing sockets in the upper ends of the sides thereof and holes therein centrally of said sockets, a grip member formed with its ends vertically elongated to fit in said sockets, and a rivet extending through the sides of the metal portion .of the D-ihandle and through said grip member.-

In witness whereof, I have hereunto atco fixed my signature.

. THOMAS W. WRIGHT. 

